Police confirm woman found dead in Citrus Heights dated man who died in hanging near I-80
Police detectives are investigating homicide after a woman was found dead inside a residence during a welfare check that authorities say was related to a suspicious death over the weekend in which a man was found hanging from a tree.
Late Thursday, Citrus Heights detectives confirmed that the woman found inside an apartment in the 7400 block of Auburn Oaks Court “was in a dating relationship with the male decedent” who was found along Interstate 80 between Citrus Heights and Roseville on Sunday.
“The female appeared to have been deceased in the residence for a number of days and was last seen around January 8th,” according to a news release from the Citrus Heights Police Department. “The female suffered from significant trauma to her body, but the specific cause of death is still be investigated by the medical examiner’s office. This appears to be an isolated incident.”
The welfare check was performed around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday at an apartment on Auburn Oaks Court by the California Highway Patrol, a few yards from where the man found with a rope around his neck in a tree about 30 feet off Interstate 80, west of Riverside Avenue.
“During the course of the investigation, detectives determined the death appeared to be a homicide,” a previous news release said.
The woman’s identity is being withheld pending notification of family, Citrus Heights officers said.
CHP Valley Division spokesman Officer Eulogio Ceja told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday, prior to the afternoon welfare check in Citrus Heights, that the man’s death Saturday near I-80 was a likely suicide and was not being looked at as suspicious. Ceja said Wednesday there was nothing to suggest that that man’s death was homicide.
Citrus Heights Police spokesman Lt. Wesley Herman said CHP investigators are working in “parallel” with Citrus Heights investigators who are now in charge of the woman’s death. The CHP will continue to investigate the man’s death.
Police say detectives are actively investigating the case, and encourage anyone with information to call its tip line at 916-727-5524.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 12:51 PM.
